The Second Time Around
by Stellarane
Summary: Years after the labyrinth, Sarah is happily married, with a beautiful baby girl. But when a sudden divorce shakes up her perfect world, she and Abigail are left alone with Sarah's memories of the labyrinth and all it's inhabitants. Are they safe?
1. The Shattered Family

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Labyrinth, or the characters portrayed. Abigail is mine, however, so do not touch her.

_Until death do you part..._

As her ex-husband left her apartment for the last time, his arms laden with boxes, Sarah recited their wedding vows in her head. As he gave his only daughter a kiss on the forehead, he raised his eyes to Sarah, who held the baby with the firm, unconditional love of a mother. His eyes were intensely sad, but buried deep in them was a relief that tortured Sarah as he left without another look. She closed the door behind him and hid her grief from the child in her arms. As she deposited the squirmy baby into it's highchair, she listened to the thrum of her ex-husband's car in the driveway, and then strained to hear it as the car drove away into oblivion.

_Goodbye, John._

Sarah resisted approaching the window to watch the car pull away; she felt as if her heart was tucked away in one of the unhappy cardboard boxes in the car's interior. Instead of watching, she hurried to the refrigerator, wiping away tears, to extract a yogurty concoction from the refrigerator. She set the open container on the plastic tray of the highchair and fastened a bib around the neck of the infant in the seat. She fed her child mechanically.

"Well Abigail," she said quietly, swallowing her tears, "I guess we're on our own now. Daddy's gone." She took a cleansing breath and smiled gently to soothe Abigail, automatically wiping the traces of food from her daughter's face with a paper towel. The child laughed enthusiastically, coaxing a tentative smile onto Sarah's face. Rising from her chair at the kitchen table, Sarah discarded the now empty container of diary product and removed Abigail's soiled bib, carelessly tossing it into the sink to clean later. Somehow, she managed to pick up Abigail at the same time, with practiced ease. Sarah glanced at the clock, feeling strangely lost. Oh of course, Abigails nap time. She nodded to herself and carried her daughter up the carpeted stairs to the nursery. While lowering Abigail into her crib, Sarah attempted to forget John's absence. She sat heavily in the rocking chair beside the crib, thinking and absently admiring the decoration of the nursery that John had selected. She ran a pale hand through her dark hair and sighed, her eyes roaming the room for something of interest. On the walnut secretary's desk against the far wall, Sarah's eyes found a red and white striped cap. It had once belonged to her younger brother, Toby. Hundreds of memories flooded into her clouded mind. Hoggle, Ludo, and Jareth, among hundreds of other creatures, appeared in her head, acting out her past adventures. As she became lost in her reminiscing, Abigail cried out, almost as if she were concerned. Sarah rose and patted the child's curls. The baby gurgled and smiled charmingly, extended her arms to be picked up. Sarah obliged immediately, enchanted by her daughter.

Inspired by the memories emerging in her head, Sarah transferred the cooing Abigail to her hip and retrieved a small, worn volume from the walnut secretary's desk. She toyed absently with the bookmark nestled between the pages as she examined the cover, opening it hesitantly to the marked page.

"I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city, to take back the child you have stolen." She clutched Abigail to her briefly and then set her on the floor. The baby proceeded to pull several blankets from the rail of her crib. Immediately, she became lost in the fold of fabric, giggling quietly. Sarah smiled and began to inspect the page she'd landed on. There was smudged writing in the lower right corner of the right page. She recognized it as her own handwriting, and attempted to decipher it one syllable at a time. "I wi...sh the go...bli..ns would come a...nd ta...ke you a...way. Ri...ght. n..ow?" She went over the words carefully in her mind. As she reached the fourth word, all color drained from her face. She turned to the bundle of blankets on the nursery floor and rose shakily to her feet; tears began forming on her hysterical face. She pulled apart the plush blankets. Abigail was gone.


	2. The Desert of Dreams

Abigail was gone.

A scream poured from Sarah's throat and tears burned lines of cold hatred into her face. She knew what was going to happen next, she had seen it before, and the memory had tortured her for years. Sobs wracked her body and she gathered the blankets from the floor, folded them carefully, obsessively, and hung them on the rail of Abigail's crib. A ominously familiar tapping on the window, and the sound of wings beating, filled the nursery. Sarah turned away from it and sat in the rocking chair in the corner, with Abigail's favorite teddy bear, Lancelot, in her hands. She glanced quickly upward as shuffling sounds caught her attentions. Goblins writhed in the corners of the room and vanished before her eyes. Frightened, she drew her knees to her torso and hugged them, holding Lancelot carelessly in a clenched fist. But at the sounds of the goblins and the struggle at the window overwhelmed her, she drew Lancelot to her and hid her face in his soft belly, letting the tears lingering on her cheeks fall into the worn, brown fur. The crazed giggling of a goblin invaded her despair, mocked her fear, and Sarah's sadness became anger.

_Disgusting, stupid creatures and their bastard of a king. Not again. Never again._

The window flew open, scattering stars and twilight throughout the nursery. Just as before, the Goblin King's shadow grew in the fading light, until it filled the floor of the warm little room, and cooled it dramatically. But Sarah couldn't look at him. Her emotions were still to volatile. Instead, she turned her body and threw Lancelot in Jareth's direction with all of her strength, rending one of the stuffed animal's arms off in the process. She heard the toy thump solidly against the wall.

_Stupid. Of course you can't hit him. With anything. He's magical you complete imbecile._

She took a deep breath, rubbed off her smudged mascara, and rose from the rocking chair. Her tears had slowed, and now fell silently. Her eyes shone with anger, sadness, and desperation. Still unable to face him, she slipped on a pair of shoes near the door. No doubt she would be walking dozens of miles in the hours to come. The kings chuckled darkly behind her, but she turned on his with such ferocity the his smile faded, replaced by a look of surprise. He seemed sickly pleased that she'd entered his life once again, and Sarah could see it in his face. The growl in the back of her throat was feral, and she swallowed it, devastated that she'd allowed this fool of a king to upset her so completely.

"You have no power over me," she said quietly. She dropped her gaze after a moment, to the shimmering garments encasing his body. The fabric of his blue cloak was like the night, and the glittering swirls embellishing it made it seem as if moonlight and stars were embedded into the fabric. She looked back up, and saw that his platinum mane was as wild as sunshine, just as it had been when she last saw him. She had hated him then, and she did now. Jareth no longer appeared pleased at her condition. She forced herself to reestablish eye contact. His eyes were....concerned? No. He can't feel concern. He's not that human. She scoffed at him, and approached him boldly, wiping away the last of her tears. "Bring me to my child you son of a bitch."

Jareth laughed, but there was no happiness in it. There wasn't even sarcasm or anger. It was an empty sound. He refused to take a step back, but he was obviously considering it. Sarah's eyes were fiery and had an impulsive quality to them. She was angry, reckless, desperate. A vicious combination. But his goblins. They would think he was weak. His facial expression changed immediately, to one of mild amusement.

"Wouldn't you rather play with your toys, Sarah?" he asked mildly, venom in his voice. Around him, goblins giggles menacingly. Sarah clenched her teeth, and her fists, attempting to be mature.

"We have danced this waltz before, Jareth," she said harshly. "I stopped the music once, I will do it again. Give me my daughter. If you refuse, you will suffer the humiliation and destruction you encountered the last time we met. I found Toby. I will find Abigail."

"Oh so that's the little pigeon's name?" he said, ignoring the sincerity of her threats. "How perfectly adorable. Do you know where she is?"

"In your castle, beyond the goblin city," Sarah recited, reddening in her frustration. Jareth pinched her cheek with feigned affection.

"That was last time," the said, grinning wickedly. "We're playing a different game this time around. She is hidden in an area of the labyrinth you aren't entirely familiar with. She's being held at the heart of the Desert of Dreams.


End file.
